10 National Trends: The Shifting Micro-credentials Policy Map

In the past decade, micro-credentials have influenced the credential ecosystem and shifted the landscape of recognizing knowledge and skills (Galindo, 2023). Digital Promise launched its Micro-credential Policy Map in January 2020 to inform how school districts, higher education institutions, and states throughout the United States are engaging with micro-credentials.

Updates to the Micro-credential Policy Map are done on a yearly basis. Publicly available resources are consulted to update the map. Digital Promise tries to create a snapshot of what is happening in the space by capturing everything, but sometimes something may be missed.

Below are the 2023 updates to the Micro-credential Policy Map:

District-level

Since 2022, there has been an increase in district-level initiatives and both states and higher education institutions implementing micro-credentials. During this scan of the Micro-credential Policy Map, we identified eight new district-level initiatives exploring micro-credentials for teacher professional development or K-12 students.

• Alaska offers its first micro-credential via the National Education Association, Improving Teaching Practices through Competency-based Personalized Learning.
• In Colorado, Cherry Creek Schools has a Micro-credential Program for high school gifted and talented students.
• In Snellville, Georgia, the city’s Digital Badge Program has partnered with area schools to offer the program to elementary, middle, and high school students.
• In Maryland, Anne Arundel County Public Schools offers educator micro-credentials.
• Michigan CoOp offers its network of school districts personalized professional development through micro-credentials.
• In Ohio, the University Heights City School District offers its ninth and 10th graders and parents micro-credentials that recognize practical skills. Also, the Educational Service Center of Central Ohio offers educators the Specialized Behavior Technician micro-credential.
• In Tennessee, STEM School Chattanooga awards digital fabrication micro-credentials to its high school students.
• In West Virginia, Jefferson County Schools offers micro-credentials to its educators.

State-level

While reviewing state-level micro-credential policies, we found that eight new state-level policies or guidelines explore micro-credentials, from accepting micro-credentials for educator licensure or re-licensure to awarding micro-credentials to recognizing skills and awarding high school students.

• Alabama accepts micro-credentials from educators with a Non-Professional Temporary Certificate pursuing the Professional Educator Certificate.
• IdahoSTARS offers early childhood development-related badges to early childhood educators. Also, Idaho SkillStack® offers industry-relevant digital badges to validate educators’ demonstrated skills.
• The Illinois State Board of Education offers technology-related micro-credentials to its educators. Additionally, the Latino Policy Forum has partnered with the DuPage Regional Office of Education to offer the English Learner Administrator Academies as micro-credentials.
• The Indiana Department of Education has partnered with All4Ed and BloomBoard to offer micro-credentials to high school students who demonstrate mastery of career-readiness skills needed for postsecondary success.
• The Louisiana Department of Education accepts micro-credentials for their Pre-Educator Pathway.
• The Nevada Department of Education accepts re-licensure of K-12 staff via micro-credentials.
• The New Hampshire Education Department allows educators to earn micro-credentials focused on the science of reading.
• The New Mexico Public Education Department offers its educators micro-credentials as a licensure advancement option.

During this scan of the Micro-credential Policy Map, one new state-level exploration was conducted by New Jersey. New Jersey’s Report on K-12 Climate Change Education Needs recommends creating a micro-credentialing system to ensure teachers receive acknowledgment for completing school district professional learning opportunities.

Higher education-level

While reviewing higher education micro-credential initiatives, 13 new higher education institutions’ exploration of micro-credentials were identified, ranging from micro-credentials being offered through general education courses to micro-credentials for current students to workforce and education-related micro-credentials.

• Higher education institutions in Arizona have begun offering micro-credentials, such as Northern Arizona University’s Foundations in Effective Teaching Micro-credential.
• The University of Connecticut’s Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning offers micro-credentials to show mastery after completing Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs).
• In Florida, all public postsecondary institutions are required to award students a digital badge upon completing general education core courses.
• Mississippi State’s Office of the Provost and the Center for Teaching and Learning’s Maroon Academy for Teaching Excellence offers micro-credentials in course design and assessment, active learning, inclusive teaching, and supporting student learning.
• The University of Nebraska offers micro-credentials for students and graduates in the workforce.
• North Dakota State University’s Office of Teaching and Learning offers education-related badges.
• Ohio’s Miami University offers for-credit and non-credit micro-credentials in business, communication and culture, computing and technology, engineering, and personal and professional development. Moreover, Kent State University in Ohio offers micro-credentials in educational live streaming, K-12 computer science, K-12 teaching and learning with games, and soft skills for the workplace.
• The University of Oregon offers a graduate micro-credential in child behavioral health.
• The Center for Holistic Education offers a workshop-based pathway to Southern Oregon University’s School of Education Social Emotional Learning Micro-credential.
• The University of Rhode Island offers community, equity, and diversity-related micro-credentials.
• The Vermont State University offers industry-relevant micro-credentials for every degree path.
• The University of Washington’s Professional and Continuing Education offers micro-credentials for those in e-learning, K-12 and higher education, human resources, and training and development.

As more districts, states, and higher education institutions adopt micro-credentials and digital badging to recognize skills earned, the Micro-credential Policy Map will be updated periodically to reflect those changes. As the interest and implementation of micro-credentialing grows, we expect to see continued adoption of micro-credentials, enactment of policies allowing for increased acceptance and recognition of micro-credentials, and sustained inclusion of micro-credentials as options for learners.